Toy.



W. B. THURMAN.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15. 1915.

Patented May 1, 1917.

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Application filed July 15, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that T, MAN, citizen ot the United States, residing in the county of Madera, State of California, (whose post-oi'lice address is Madera, Madera county,) have invented new and useful improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to amusement devices and more particularly to mechanical toys. Among the objects of this invention are to provide a toy of this nature for the amusement of children That can be cheaply produced;

That is simple and obvious in operation; and

That is of such construction and material that small children operating the same cannot be injured thereby.

For the purposes of illustration the present embodiment of this invention represents a mouse traveling down a board, with means for causing the progress of the mouse to simulate the characteristic action of the live animal under the same circumstances.

(Ether objects and advantages will appear as the description progresses. In the drawing accompanying and forming par of the present specification, to which like reference characters have been applied, a simple form of putting this invention into practice is shown. I do not wish to be understood as confining this invention to the disclosures made in said drawings and description, as many variations may be introduced within the spirit of this invention, as defined in the claims succeeding the said description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toy constructed in accordance with this invention, portions of the structure being broken away better to disclose the interrelation of the parts.

Fig. 2 is a plan view from above of the same in cross section on the line 2-2 Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross section of this same taken on the line 3-3 Fig.

Fig. 4 is a detail in cross section taken on the line M Fig. 2, with the mouse omitted, illustrating the manner of assembling the travel board with the side strips and the cross pins in staggered relation.

In detail the construction illustrated in the drawings, includes the travel board 1 having its lateral edges set in the grooves 22 in the side strips 3-3. The side strips 3 Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented May it, 191?,

Serial No. 410,146.

which are channel shape are preferably formed on av sticker in stock lengths, and transversely out into proper short lengths for "forming the toy. The channel space in the side strips 3 is divided into the upper space a and the lower space 5, by the travel board. The travel board is held in fixed position in the side strips, by the transverse pins 6, passing through the upper and lower walls 7 and 8 of the side strips. The travel board is shorter than the end strips, leaving the spaces 9 and 10 at the opposite ends of the travel board, closed by the end pieces 11 and 12, fastened across the ends of the strips closing the ends of the channels formed therein.

Thus assembled we have the travel board with its lateral edges fixed in the side strips, the walls 7 and 8 of which overhang the top and bottom surfaces of the travel. board;

ith a like overhanging wall across the ends of the travel board formed by the end pieces 11 and 12; all combining to form a continuous space around the lateral edges and the ends of the travel board. The mouse or other object- 13, is provided with a cross bar 14, the length of which is greater than the distance between the inner edges of the side strips. The cross bar let is placed through the object 13 near the rear end, the projecting portions of the bar 1a being of such length that the space between the sides of the mouse 13 and the adjacentedges of the side strips will prevent the removal of the mouse from the engagement of this cross bar with the side strips. The mouse may be of any consistent material such as wood,

plaster or molded composition, properly decorated to create the desirable illusion.

The assemblage thus far described permits the mouse to travel entirely around the travel board with the cross bar 14 confined within the spaces t and 5.

To add realism to the action of the mouse 13, the pins 6 are set back from the inner edges 15 of the side strips 3, so that the distanc between the pins on opposite sides of the travel board is proportioned to the relative length of the cross bar 14 and the space between the sides of the mouse and the edges 15-45; and the length of the mouse is such that the cross bar can only pass between two given pins when set at the proper transverse angle, as illustrated in dotted line Fig. 2. It is preferable to weight the head end of the mouse in such ters Patent is za manner as to cause a pendulum-like action thereof, when suspended on the cross bar that in turn engages two pins.

The toy is operated by tipping the board, the weight of the mouse causing it to travel down the board and theparticular relation of the length of the cross bar to the side pins as described, causesthemouse to zigzag its way down the board between the side strips, moving its head from side to side as it progresses. The rattle of the cross bar successivelyengaging the pins adds to the amusement afforded by this toy inthe hands of children. Reaching the end of the-travel board, the cross bar disengaged from the last pins drops past the end'of the travel board, t-he mouse hanging suspended by the cross bar. The operationof tilting-the bar is now repeated in the reverse direction, the mouse-traveling down the opposite side of the travel boa-rd making the complete circuit, when the board is properly tilted-as the mouse reaches the lower end thereof.

The material preferred in the construction is a white, soft, sapless Wood, attractive in appearance without the addition of paint or stain liable to be injurious to small children indulging in the usual habit of chewing things. The pins 6 are very conveniently placed bymeans of-a box machineadapted to force the nailsin the positions shown in the drawings at a single operation, contributing to economy production.

The end pieces 11 and 12'can be similarly attached with proper jigs to provide for spacing the opposite ends of the travel board from theends-ofthe side strips. It is obvious however that a device of this nature lends itself readily to production in metal or other materials by the exercise of common mechanical knowledge withoutdeparting :fromrthe spirit of this invention.

jHavmg thus described this invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Let l. A toy comprising in combination a travel board having a substantially straight athway, a row of upstanding pins on each side of said pathway, the plns in one row being out of transverse alinement with the said board; the pins in one strip being out of transverse alinement with the plns 1n the other strip, a traveling memberhaving projections engaging said pins.

3. A toy including a travel board; side strips overhanging the edges of said board; end pieces on said s rips spaced from the ends of said board; pins projecting through said strips and said board, the pins in one strip being out of transverse alinement with the pins in the other strip, and a traveling member having projections engaging-said pins.

4. A toy comprising in combination a travel board having a substantially straight pathway thereon, a row of upstanding pins defining said pathway on each side, said pins being out of transverse alinement with each other, a traveling member having pro jections engaging said pins alternately on opposite sides, and means for concealing said pins from above,

5. A toy includinga travel board; side strips overhangingthe edges of said board; pinsprojecting throu h said board, and the strips on opposite si es of said board and out of transverse alinement with each other; end pieces on said strips spaced from the ends of said board; and a traveling member having projections engaging said pins alternately on opposite sides. 1

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my-hand this 16th day of June, 1915.

WVILLIAM THURMAN.

Witnesses:

A. J. HENRY, BALDWIN VALE.

Copies of this patent may be obtainedfor five cents each, ,by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

